Ladies and Gentlemen, I had a red oak tree out back fall and take out a cherry tree. I cut the oak into four 9’ sections (average 15” dia.) and got a 9’ piece from the cherry (14” dia.). Painted the ends with house paint and sent them off to the portable band saw. Sending them off to the portable band saw doesn’t make sense, but that is what happened. Now I’m ready to air dry the wood. So, my questions are about the stickers. One place, the internet, says that to make them out of hard wood. Another, again the internet, says make them out of anything as long as their the same size. Okay, so here IS the question——Can I make them out of ripped pine two by sixes? I have a stack of free pine two by’s saved from pallet material (a pickup load). Also, is one and a half inches to wide for the stickers?

-- I think, therefore I think I am.

15 replies so far

I just stickered a LOT of walnut and cedar and I used hard and soft woods but just make sure that each level is of the same kind. I used 1” x 1”s and it has worked out fine for me. I am under the impression that you want as small an “imprint” on the wood as possible. Hope this helps.

I have used regular treated doug-fir 1×2s in my solar kiln and had no stain or anything with Mango wood but got some light staining on Albezia but not at every sticker. I know that’s not an answer but thought I would share the little experience I have.

I would recommend 1×1 stickers, a little thick (tall) is better for air drying. 1 1/2” wide is ok, but 1” is better as it does allow a little more surface-to-air contact which helps avoid staining. Better again is to replace the stickers after a couple of days with fresh, dryer ones to help even further with staining. Good luck with it.

Cherry won’t be prone to staining, and you’ll be fine as WDHLT15 said, the stickers should be dry. Don’t go more than 20” between stickers, and keep them centered on top of each other. Sounds like you’ve got a good handle on covering the stack. Put the stack where there will be good air circulation through it (not next to a building, for example). Yes, it DOES make sense to bring your logs to a portable sawmill. It saves set-up time, and usually the customer can bring the logs, help offload the boards, and take the lumber home, all in one trip.

The foundation for a large stack is very important. Take time to build it strong and level and, make make the foundation about 10” off the ground. You can use the same foundation over and over. A good level foundation and stickers of consistent thickness results in high quality (straight) lumber.